Start to Finish, and Back Again
by ncfan
Summary: Kyouraku Shunsui's thoughts on the women he knows and the women he has known.


**Summary:** Kyouraku Shunsui's thoughts about the women he knows and the women he has known.**  
Characters: **Too many to count, main characters are Shunsui and Nanao.**  
Pairings: **Shunsui x Nanao, Byakuya x Hisana, Kisuke x Yoruichi, Kaien x Miyako, onesided Rukia x Kaien, Gin x Rangiku, onesided Shuuhei x Rangiku.**  
Warnings/Spoilers:** Spoilers for Soul Society and Turn Back the Pendulum Arc.**  
Author's Notes: **Since Shunsui is considered an excellent judge of character, I thought he'd provided some interesting insights on these women.**  
Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach.

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**1: Kyouraku Kinuyo**

The first woman in Kyouraku Shunsui's life was his mother.

Being the second son, Shunsui was also passed over for primary attention by his father, who instead focused on Shunsui's older brother, his heir, who would take over leadership of the family once he was gone.

Shunsui, the younger of his father's two sons, was instead focused upon by his mother Kinuyo. Kinuyo had instilled in Shunsui his strong love of peace; Kinuyo had feared war because of her pain at the thought that the baby of the family (Shunsui's brother had never become a Shinigami) might not come back from a mission or that they might go away to some battle and never come back.

She was also much less disapproving of Shunsui's restlessness and his love of women than Shunsui's father and brother.

If one was to ask Shunsui who the most beautiful woman in his life was, he would smile easily and tell them that it was a tie between his lovely Nanao-chan (who would roll her eyes at this and tell him to get on with the paperwork) and his mother, and his mother was still a very attractive woman, though well past her prime with a long silver braid hanging down her back.

Shunsui visited his mother once a month at his family's homestead. His older brother, who had held leadership of the clan every since their father had passed would, with a weary fondness, ask Shunsui if he ever intended on settling down.

Kinuyo would, on the other hand, giggle and ask quietly if Nanao, who had come with Shunsui to the family estate, was the girl Shunsui had hinted he would be getting a little more serious about.

**2: Yadomaru Lisa**

Lisa was not Shunsui's first lieutenant, nor was she his longest lasting. But she was the most memorable before Nanao, the one for whom memory is most vivid in Shunsui's eyes.

Shunsui never knew much about Lisa; she refused to talk much about her upbringing in the seventy-sixth district of southern Rukongai, except that it had been, in her words, "rough". She bore the scars of that upbringing, literally, as Shunsui would discover.

Lisa had become a member of the Eighth Division, and was immediately given the position of fifth seat, such potential did she have. After a series of retirements, transfers and deaths, she rose within months to the position of lieutenant.

Lisa had been a quiet woman, but strong and assertive, and she had known how to keep Shunsui at the paperwork. On that count, she hadn't been afraid to use underhanded tactics, such as hiding Shunsui's sake and literally sealing him in his office with the paperwork, telling him she wouldn't let him out until he was done.

"_And I'll know if you're lying!" Shunsui heard Lisa shout through the door. "So don't bother!"_

After accidentally finding porno under Lisa's bed one day, his lieutenant had openly admitted to being bisexual. That had been a _very_ interesting revelation for Shunsui.

She was very secretive about her activities, very closed-off and very stiff-necked. If Shunsui didn't know about the porno and the long nights in which she didn't come to the division headquarters, he would have said that Lisa was the most straight-laced person he had ever met, including Juushiro. She did have her lighter moments; Lisa was at the heart of any party in the Gotei Thirteen, for as long as she was there.

There was one matter that never failed to make Shunsui wonder.

A few months before Lisa disappeared on that mission, a very young girl was admitted to the Eighth division.

Her name was Ise Nanao; however old Shunsui thought she was, she was probably older than that, because she was malnourished just as Lisa had been when she had first been admitted to the division; apparently, both came from the same district of Rukongai.

Nanao and Lisa were very attached to each other; Lisa seemed especially concerned about Nanao's development and safety, as she personally trained the girl in the use of her zanpakuto.

One day, Lisa tracked Shunsui down and made him swear that, if anything were to happen to her, he would look after Nanao and keep her safe until adulthood. Explaining herself, Lisa dropped a bombshell: she was Nanao's much older half-sister.

They had the same mother, Lisa explained, and different fathers. Nanao did not know of it, and Lisa strongly hinted that she preferred to keep it that way; she had not known Nanao since she was a baby, and was nervous about Nanao finding out the truth.

Shunsui agreed instantly, and wondered if Nanao would be as good-looking as Lisa when she grew up.

Lisa disappeared. She said not a word, just vanished. Shunsui didn't know what had happened or why she was gone. She had left a hole in the division, a hole in his life that didn't exactly hurt but did ache, the way a severed limb would.

Nanao grew to resemble Lisa in every way but two. She was shorter than Lisa had been, and her eyes were rounder and blue-violet as opposed to Lisa's almond-shaped jade green eyes.

Shunsui had his suspicions. One day, many years after Lisa's disappearance, while Nanao was out with a couple of friends, Shunsui snuck into her bedroom and plucked a strand of hair off of her pillow. Lisa's things were in storage. Shunsui went into a box, found Lisa's old hair brush and pulled another strand of hair off of it. Then, Shunsui headed over to the Twelfth division headquarters.

Kurotsuchi Mayuri didn't need much of an excuse to examine someone's DNA; specifically, Shunsui wanted Kurotsuchi to run a comparison on the two samples of DNA. Kurotsuchi, predictably, was delighted with new material to work with. Everything had been going so slowly lately, he told Shunsui, in a leering tone that made Shunsui shiver subconsciously.

Lisa's DNA was degraded, but still workable. Kurotsuchi told Shunsui he'd have his results in two weeks.

Two weeks later, Kurotsuchi sent a then fourteen-year-old Nemu to find Shunsui with the results. Nemu found Shunsui with Juushiro in the Thirteenth Division headquarters, handed him a manila folder, bowed, and left.

Shunsui was shocked to learn that Lisa had left something out. He was shocked to learn that Lisa had lied about the exact way in which she and Nanao had been related.

Lisa's wish was respected. Nanao remained ignorant, and Shunsui put the documents where his lieutenant would never find them.

Shunsui stayed with Juushiro that night (He was having an attack of his tuberculosis and needed a friend). While Juushiro coughed on the pallet, Shunsui leaned back and thought about Lisa, Nanao, Rukongai, the past, and secrets that were better left buried.

**3: Unohana Retsu**

Unohana had been a captain when Shunsui was still a first-year at the Academy.

Unohana cultivated serenity. At the same time, she was an imposing, sometimes even intimidating presence. She was probably the only unmarried woman Shunsui found remotely attractive that he didn't hit on.

It was a little-known fact that Unohana was Yamamoto's biological daughter; naturally, both Shunsui and Juushiro knew, but no one else did. Unohana had adopted her own name upon coming of age, so many centuries ago. Neither she nor Yamamoto ever attempted to hide it, but they never brought it up, either, and didn't behave towards each other with any more affection or camaraderie than would be expected of Yamamoto-soutaicho and Unohana-taicho.

Unohana had been something of an older sister to Shunsui and Juushiro, an older companion, someone not to be messed with. Shunsui pitied the poor fool who would finally make the serene Unohana lose her temper. They'd be scraping the bloke's remains off of the hospital floor with a spatula.

To date, Unohana has learned three things about Shunsui while he has been under the influence of anesthetics and more inclined to be chatty about his personal life.

One, he liked to imagine himself as the highwayman from Alfred Noyes' narrative poem _The Highwayman_. And for whatever reason, Bess looked a great deal like Nanao, but with shorter hair and glasses. Unohana would shake her head, remember what had ended up happening to the highwayman and Bess, and decide that Shunsui was genuinely batty.

Two, Shunsui liked to eat onigiri on long summer nights.

Three, Shunsui somehow always knew when Juushiro was having an attack. He may not have been in eyesight of him, and he may not have been in earshot, but he always knew when Juushiro started coughing.

**4: Shihoin Yoruichi**

Yoruichi had been a lot of fun. Shunsui didn't know that there was much more he could say about her.

The pampered, good-natured princess of the Shihoin had always known how to have a good time; she had been a little imp, pranking nearly every captain except Yamamoto and Unohana. Shunsui had not been exempt.

One day, long ago, Shunsui had awoken on a bed that he had not gone to sleep on. He was not (as the rumors went) naked, but he was chained to the bed by his hands and feet. Lisa found him like that (it was her bed; she hadn't come home the night before) and got him loose after she had stopped rolling on the floor laughing. Shunsui knew who had been responsible, and decided to treat it in a good-natured manner, laughing it off as Lisa had.

Good thing for Yoruichi.

Shunsui had been the laughing stock of the divisions for a couple of weeks, but then it died down and everyone forgot. Except Lisa, who hadn't been able to resist taking pictures. The black and white shots were still in a cardboard box in storage.

When Yoruichi had still lived in Soul Society, one of Shunsui's favorite hobbies during downtime had been to watch her drive a teenaged Kuchiki Byakuya absolutely _batty._ The boy was incredibly easy to provoke, and Yoruichi knew all of the right buttons to push. A hunt with intent to kill on Byakuya's side was a game of tag on Yoruichi's. It was absolutely insane.

Yoruichi had vanished, just like Lisa, at about the same time as Lisa. Except in Yoruichi's case, Shunsui knew _exactly_ why she had done it.

He couldn't blame her. In fact, he applauded her. He knew how Yoruichi felt about Urahara and he knew that there was no way she would let him fall so hard, so fast.

Shunsui could never figure out why Soi Fong had been so surprised.

**5: Kuchiki Hisana**

Originally, the marriage of Kuchiki Byakuya and his betrothed Hisana was supposed to be a private affair, with a cousin as the only witness.

Then, Shunsui heard about it.

In the end, most of the Gotei Thirteen was in attendance, including all of the captains and lieutenants; even Yamamoto and Kurotsuchi made appearances. The venue had to be moved to a large public place, with vaulted ceilings and a huge tile floor so everyone could sit down. The wedding was conducted in the evening, when only a ruddy orange light cast a glow around the chamber.

Naturally, Byakuya was annoyed, especially with Shunsui, who was essentially responsible for the en masse gate-crashing of his wedding. He hadn't wanted to expose Hisana to the crowd and the judgments that were already being drawn up about her because of her social status.

But Hisana was surprisingly pleased and reassured by the presence of the Shinigami, so he relented.

Shunsui and Juushiro sat together at the wedding. Juushiro was having a coughing fit and the only reason he hadn't stayed home was because of the wonderful discovery of some candy that eased his throat and allowed him to keep the coughing to a hushed minimum. Juushiro spent the ceremony coughing into his hand; Shunsui, rubbing circles on his back and watching anyway.

"_I can't believe that cheeky little brat is actually getting married," Kaien muttered at Juushiro's right side. Miyako frowned gently at him; Kaien didn't notice. "That poor girl."_

Shunsui peered long and hard at Hisana. He couldn't see her very well from the row near the back, but he summed up what he knew of her.

Hisana was a tiny young woman, probably a little less than five feet tall; the shortness was especially jarring next to her tall fiancé. She had black hair, and was dressed elaborately, in an understatedly lovely bridal kimono made out of pure silk.

Obviously, Byakuya's intent had been to show that Hisana was as much a lady as any of his female relatives. And while he was going about it the wrong way, Shunsui could not help but appreciate it.

Personally, this marriage said a great deal about Byakuya. It proved to everyone in the room that Byakuya had enough character to fly in the face of tradition and essentially say, _"Screw the rules, I'm in love_"; much to his family's chagrin, if the resounding absence of all but the cousin who was initially to be the only witness was any indication. Shunsui (and pretty much everyone in the Gotei Thirteen) was aware of the unholy ruckus the Kuchiki clan was raising over this marriage, and evidently, Byakuya didn't give a damn.

The young head of the Kuchiki clan rose several points in Shunsui's estimation that day.

When Shunsui and Juushiro (still coughing, and apologizing profusely for it) came up to congratulate the newlyweds, he got a better look at Hisana.

The young girl was absolutely stunning, though the huge smile on her face probably had a great deal to do with it. Hisana had the wide violet eyes, blue tinged at the outer edges, of a porcelain doll, but she seemed much more alive than any doll ever could be. She was shy and the picture of the blushing bride, but very polite and graceful, dignified and cheerful.

Personally, at that moment, Shunsui became of the opinion that Hisana was _more_ of a lady than most of the women in the Kuchiki clan. The only two exempt from that were Byakuya's late mother (who probably would have approved of Hisana) and the cousin who had been willing to bear witness. And he told Byakuya that too, in a hushed tone where no other could hear.

Byakuya, for his part, did what hardly anyone ever saw out of him. He smiled.

Five years later, five years that were far too short and fleeting like the lifespan of a mayfly, Hisana was dead. Shunsui shook his head in shock and in sadness, and mourned for Byakuya, who had held the light in his hands only to have it snatched away from him.

_Shunsui narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of Kuchiki Rukia running after Byakuya to catch up to him. She might as well have been Hisana's carbon copy, though shorter and scrawnier._

Shunsui knew before everyone else, even Rukia, exactly what Rukia's relationship to Hisana was.

And he smiled, glad that Byakuya had found some good out of the darkest time of his life, out of the extinction of his joy.

**6: Hinamori Momo**

Wide brown eyes that belonged on a child's face, not a grown woman's. But she was a child, in every way. She had the body of a child, the shy naivety of a child, the charming innocence of a child.

Hinamori was broken, too.

She had been so incredibly devoted to Aizen; she had tied her soul to the illusion of him that she had. Shunsui had always known that it was unwise to give up everything one had to just one person, mind, body and soul.

When the fall came, Hinamori would break and shatter like the glass from a crumbling stained glass window. So beautiful, so fragile, so utterly broken.

She had been stabbed almost to death, Aizen's hands holding the blade.

Shunsui had vowed never to battle unless absolutely necessary.

But when Nanao came back from Hinamori's room with a white face and speak in taciturn, shuddering tones of Hinamori's brokenness, Shunsui wanted to hurt Aizen. A great deal.

**7: Soi Fong**

Shunsui can remember when Soi Fong was a different person, without her cocoon wound tight about her in a sheen of brittle gossamer silk.

When Soi Fong had been a different person, Yoruichi had still been in Soul Society.

Soi Fong hadn't been in love with Yoruichi, not exactly; Shunsui liked to think he was a fairly proficient judge of character and emotions, so he liked to think he was right about that. It would have been easy to mistake her feelings for love though, however erroneous that assumption was.

Soi Fong adored Yoruichi, the way a dog adored an especially kind and loving master. She followed her everywhere the way a dog would, her eyes wide and adoring, hanging on Yoruichi's every word.

When she had been different, Soi Fong had smiled. She had been shy, amiable, cheerful and engaging with all at once. The Soi Fong Shunsui remembered was a happy girl, a lover of life and every thrill there was to offer.

That joy had died when Yoruichi had vanished.

Soi Fong's transformation had not been gradual; it was like a light switch had been turned off.

No more smiles from Soi Fong, no more joy. The world was dead and turned to ash, and as far as that new bitter, arrogant woman was concerned, it could all burn until there was nothing left. Nothing would be enough to extinguish the fire of her pain.

It was like staring at a person and their reflection in a mirror. Shunsui couldn't decide which Soi Fong was the person, and which was the reflection.

**8: Matsumoto Rangiku**

Rangiku was not entirely what she seemed to be.

On the surface, Shunsui knew it was all too easy to write Rangiku off as a lovely, vapid blonde. She cultivated the image; sometimes consciously, Shunsui thought. It was impossible for a Shinigami to rise to lieutenant without wisdom and experience (unless said lieutenant was Kusajishi Yachiru), yet Rangiku was still underestimated, still underrated and still written off as an airhead.

Shunsui knew better.

Case in point: Rangiku's relationship with Ichimaru Gin.

Shunsui didn't know their history with each other. He didn't know when they had met, just how long they had known each other or how they had come to the point that they had.

Shunsui often caught sight of Gin and Rangiku in a corridor together. They were discreet, but familiar with each other in a way that wouldn't normally be considered appropriate between two colleagues of different ranks. Watching them, anyone, Shunsui especially would have got the impression that they were more than just friends, even if one didn't know either of them. That suspicion of Shunsui's was later confirmed by Nanao; for two women who were virtual polar opposites of each other, it was surprising how well Nanao and Rangiku got on.

Rangiku and Gin were the epitome of the odd couple, though as far as intimate relationships went amongst the Shinigami, they were probably the best-adjusted of the lot. Shunsui didn't have a clue what the two saw in each other, though he supposed Gin wasn't quite as off-putting when they were alone and Rangiku was relatively resilient to his mind games.

Prime example of Rangiku's hidden depths: That a bombshell like Rangiku gave an odd duck like Gin the time of day.

Resilient as Rangiku was, Shunsui knew she was not immune to heartache.

It had been to the surprise of all that Gin had openly apologized to Rangiku before heading off with Aizen and Kaname. It proved that, though Gin may have been able to kill on a whim and commit atrocities for no reason, he did care about Rangiku. That was probably why the wound in her ended up running so deep.

Shunsui had the experience of seeing Rangiku, Kira Izuru and Hisagi Shuuhei swigging sake out of the bottles like their lives depended on it, clearly trying to kill themselves on the intoxicants.

A three way drinking match between two jilted subordinates and one jilted lover. If Hinamori hadn't been injured, it would probably be a four-way drinking match. In any case, that was one drinking contest that Shunsui would _not_ be involving himself in; there was no way he'd win.

He did stick around to watch, though.

It was pretty clear that Shuuhei had a huge crush on Rangiku. From the way she was hanging on to his arm a little too familiarly, she was either totally ignorant of it or knew and was enjoying his discomfiture far too much to be healthy.

Eventually, Rangiku was the only one left conscious. She put the bottle down and huddled on the corner of the floor, pale blue eyes staring at the opposite wall blankly, clearly unaware of her surroundings.

Shunsui knew what was going on.

Rangiku claimed she was over it, but there was no way she could possibly over everything if she needed to drink herself into a stupor just to forget Gin. And if she needed to do that just to forget him, Shunsui doubted he wanted to know just what she did to get over him, even for a little while.

**9: Shiba Miyako**

It was easy to draw a comparison between Miyako and Hisana. Both were the soft-spoken wives of men who desperately needed a moderating influence in their lives; Kaien would openly admit that Miyako was his better half, and Byakuya probably thought the same thing about Hisana.

Hisana had been strong. In order to survive in the worst parts of Rukongai, there could be no weakness, except for weaknesses of the heart which did not affect the body. Miyako was strong, too.

But her strength was different, more steely. It was all too easy to forget Miyako's terrifying strength when held up against her unfailing kindness. Most of the Thirteenth division mindlessly adored her without ever realizing how much stronger she was than everyone but Kaien and Juushiro.

Unlike Byakuya and Hisana, who had had a sweet and ephemeral mayfly romance of five years, Kaien and Miyako were married for the best part of forty years and had known each other for at least twenty years before that.

Miyako had been almost too perfect, when Shunsui remembered her. Everything had been delicate and light with Shiba Miyako, not a single thing out of place in her life. That led Shunsui to wonder: just how dysfunctional did her life become behind closed doors? Miyako was a perfectionist, taking it to unhealthy levels.

She had been a good person though.

That was why she hadn't deserved what she had got.

Her soul had been extinguished, yet she lived on still for that night alone. Her eyes roamed the dark room but did not see; she did not answer Kaien when he called out to her and sobbed. Kuchiki Rukia clung to the wall and dug her fingers into her skin as she cupped her face in her hand. All through the night, sea gray eyes flickered off and on, until the morning came, and the light of the sun finally extinguished her beating heart.

Miyako's death didn't just break Kaien. It brought about the death of Kaien, which broke Rukia. Kaien's death broke Ukitake, which broke the division.

Miyako brought the Thirteenth division crashing to her knees.

**10: Kusajishi Yachiru**

It was hard to tell if she truly was an innocent or if she was just as insane and deranged as her captain and father-figure.

Shunsui was fond of Yachiru. It was hard not to be fond of Yachiru, even if she was at times an obnoxious little girl who stole candy right out from under peoples' noses and gave annoying nicknames to everyone she met (Shunsui had once teased Nanao that Yachiru's nickname for her, "Nana", was indicative of Yachiru's feelings towards her; Nanao fired back by remarking that if Yachiru's nickname for her made her a grandmother, than Yachiru's nickname for _him_ made him a piece of cutlery).

The little girl didn't seem to have a cruel bone in her body, which was amazing, considering who had raised her. It was even more shocking to see that Zaraki Kenpachi seemed to be, at least on the surface, genuinely fond of her. Shunsui personally thought that that meant that there was something to be said for Yachiru's resilience and her ability to soak up bloodshed like a sponge without being affected by it.

There was the possibility that Yachiru was emotionally or mentally damaged in some way. Shunsui didn't mean to be derisory with that. He just didn't see how the sort of slaughter Kenpachi tended to attract to himself couldn't affect a child like Yachiru. He supposed that she might have developed some sort of emotional imbalance to compensate, and that might be why she was so detached when Kenpachi broke out his special can of Armageddon.

Just because she wasn't cruel, however, didn't mean that she didn't have a penchant for sometimes malicious mischief. Yachiru's spiritual pressure had been known to bowl over grown men and had on more than one occasion terrified high-ranking Shinigami in other divisions. Yachiru's definition of a good time involved immersing Seireitei in the sort of chaos only seen when everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

It was speculated that Yachiru might actually be the manifested spirit of Kenpachi's zanpakuto; she certainly was chaotic enough to qualify. Shunsui didn't buy it. If Yachiru really was the manifested spirit of Kenpachi's zanpakuto, he liked to think she would have made her identity known by now. It was far more likely that she was just the strange, mysterious child Kenpachi carried around with him.

Shunsui breathlessly awaited the day when Yachiru metamorphosed into a beautiful young woman. Kenpachi, for his part, threatened to bifurcate him if he ever tried it.

**11: Kurotsuchi Nemu**

To put it politely, Nemu was a knock-out with elements of the lab assistant and the ingénue all in one. To put it a little less than politely, she was _hot._

However, that was not so say that her life was perfect, or even a happy life.

One day, before Nanao had become Shunsui's lieutenant, Nemu was on the Eighth division grounds for whatever reason, with Nanao and Rangiku, who together with Hinamori (who was absent that day) made up an eclectic quartet of friends, walking around and talking, though it was Rangiku and Nanao who did the talking and Nemu who did most of the listening.

Well, she was a pretty girl, and Shunsui decided to do what he did best around pretty girls. He hit on her, albeit politely; that was how he treated most of the women he hit on, but especially on Nemu because at that point, he really didn't know her very well at all.

Nemu had a decidedly adverse reaction.

She didn't try to run away like many women had when Shunsui had been in the Academy. Instead, she started doing something that strongly resembled hyperventilating.

Nanao and Rangiku took immediate action, both placing a hand under the crook of one of Nemu's arms and pulling her off down the street, Nanao shooting the nastiest glare she could muster at Shunsui as they left.

Shunsui was, for himself, left confused and more than a little worried.

Nanao came back, alone, a couple of hours later, an ominously flat look on her face. In a few terse, angry sentences, she summed up the whole of Nemu's home life.

"_I'd like for her to _keep _coming around here, so if you wouldn't mind, please restrain yourself when Kurotsuchi-san is on the division grounds!"_

Shunsui agreed immediately.

**12: Ise Nanao**

Nanao could be summed up in three sentences, and these were the sentences Shunsui commonly used to sum up his latest lieutenant.

She was the most reliable lieutenant in the Gotei Thirteen.

She was also the best-looking.

Finally, one day, Shunsui _would _win Nanao over.

Nanao would quietly say thank you to the first, but once Shunsui said the second, she'd roll her eyes and tell him he was drunk, and with the third came threats of reporting him for sexual harassment.

Shunsui was not dissuaded.

If Shunsui was honest with himself, memories of Lisa colored his relationship with Nanao, whether positively or negatively he did not know.

Juushiro would tease Shunsui that he both had the hots for and was overprotective of Nanao, and he would readily admit that he was. Shunsui was at best highly reluctant to send Nanao into combat, not out of a lack of confidence in her ability to fight and defend herself, but out of remembrance of what happened to Lisa, after he sent her into battle with a foe that was just too strong.

What Shunsui wouldn't admit was that his over-protectiveness would have crippled anyone but Nanao. And he realized that she probably resented him for that.

Shunsui's relationship with Nanao was…complicated. Ever since he had gotten Nanao to inadvertently admit that, no, she did _not_ think he was a lazy good-for-nothing, Shunsui had taken encouragement from that and had not let up since. Nanao regretted ever opening her mouth that day.

It was safe to say that Shunsui's feelings for Nanao went a bit beyond the usual story of hitting on the women in his division. That everyone else knew usually made Shunsui the subject of good-natured jabs from Juushiro, who was of the firm opinion that Nanao might well be the woman who finally made Shunsui settle down.

Nanao just didn't know it yet.

No matter what Shunsui did, he just couldn't convince Nanao that he was being serious. She always rebuffed, rebuked and at times physically attacked him for even the more innocuous advances he made.

It would not have been the first captain-lieutenant relationship to take place in the Gotei Thirteen, and Nanao would shyly admit, only to Hinamori and Nemu, and only after they had both been sworn to secrecy on pains of death, that there were days when she wasn't entirely adverse to the idea. The only problem was that Nanao wanted a stable relationship, and she doubted she was ever going to find that with Kyouraku Shunsui.

What Nanao had failed to notice was that Shunsui hadn't made any serious advances towards any woman but her since she had become his lieutenant.


End file.
